Our Greatest Second Chance
by MystericWonder
Summary: This is a story of second chances. A chance to turn over a new leaf. A chance to set right what once went wrong. A chance for those pushed aside by fate to rise from the ashes. A chance... to look at the world from a different perspective. Based on my Platinum Nuzlocke playthrough.
1. Prologue

_Somewhere..._

* * *

…

"…Hello."

…

"No, I don't."

…

"But why now, and why not before?"

…

"Where am I right now?"

…

"Huh?"

…

"WHAT? But I can't be-"

…

"But… all my friends and family!"

…

"So they're safe… that's… a relief. But why don't I remember anything?"

…

"…Oh. I get it now."

* * *

"Anyway, so all in all, I just have to move on?"

…

"…Really? But why would you want to do that?"

…

"Uh… thank you. But what will I need to do?"

…

"I don't think I like these kinds of vague answers. Could you please be more specific?"

…

"…I certainly hope so."

…

* * *

"…I'll be honest, I'm still not that sure about this. What will happen if I don't take your offer?"

…

"…Okay. So I guess it's either this… or I can never have a shot at my life again…"

…

"…I don't really have a choice in this, do I?"

…

"…I'll take it."

* * *

_Somewhere else…_

* * *

…

"…Hello, sir."

…

"…No, I don't."

…

"Where are you right now?"

…

"Yes, sir."

…

"What is it?"

…

"…Are you serious?"

…

"You KNOW what happened the last time-"

…

"But you KNOW me! It's not-"

…

"Don't 'no one else' me!"

…

"I'm not 'innocent' anymore! Don't give me that bull!"

…

* * *

"…Really?"

…

"…Okay. But… but why would you do this?"

…

"…Learn something?"

…

"What will I learn?"

…

"…I don't like being misled like this. Could you clear stuff up more?"

…

"It better be."

…

* * *

"…I'm not sure about this. At all. What's going to happen when I don't take the offer?"

…

"So it's either this… or my life is over forever…"

…

"I guess it's not like I even have a choice…"

…

"…I'll take it."

* * *

_This is a story of second chances._

_A chance to turn over a new leaf._

_A chance to set right what once went wrong._

_A chance for those pushed aside by fate to rise from the ashes._

_A chance... to look at the world from a different perspective._

* * *

_MystericWonder presents..._

**Our Greatest Second Chance: A Platinum Storylocke**

* * *

**Rules:**

1. If a Pokémon faints, it dies, and is boxed permanently.

2. First catch from each route or area only.

2.1. Rule activates only after I can buy Poké Balls.

2.2. Dupes clause is on. May not catch dupes unless original Pokémon is dead. This includes evolutions of those Pokémon.

3. All Pokemon catching rules are nullified if a Shiny Pokemon is found.

4. Starter death = game over.

5. Eggs do not count as Pokémon from their respective areas. This means that I can catch a Pokémon and receive an egg in the same area.

6. Nickname every Pokémon caught.


	2. Chapter 1: Improbability

"Mom, I'm home," said the teenaged boy at the doorstep.

No sound.

Sighing, Lucas opened the door with his key and entered the house. He was quick to discover that no one was inside, confirming his thoughts. He also discovered some packages and a letter that were left on the kitchen table. His mom had left them there for him to find.

It had been a long and busy day for Lucas. He had chased along Barry all day long with his "Pokémon getting" and "legendary hunting", he had met Professor Rowan on Route 201 and received his new first Pokémon, and he had gone to the Professor's laboratory to get his Pokédex and a new, cutting-edge Technical Machine player, complete with a complimentary TM.

The Pokémon he had received was currently trotting alongside him. He seemed a bit curious, yet a bit unnerved about his new surroundings. His blazing tail indicated that he was a Chimchar.

"It's all right, Chris. We're home now; it's safe here."

"Chris", as Lucas had named him, seemed to calm down at this. Lucas had not given too much thought about naming the Chimchar; the name sounded pretty good to him, so he had decided to go with it.

Lucas read the letter:

* * *

_Dear Lucas,_

_Congratulations! I heard that you got your Pokémon from Professor Rowan today. Barry's mother told me all about it. I'm sorry that I wasn't able to be here for you today; I had some important business to take care of in Hearthome City. I probably won't be back home for the next few days, but call me if you feel lonely!_

_Dinner's in the fridge; it's your favorite. I made enough for until breakfast tomorrow!_

_Barry's mother told me that she had something to give to you and Barry. They're the two smaller packages on the table. She told me that Barry's gone to Jubilife City; please give him one of the packages when you meet him, okay?_

_I know that things haven't been exactly going great for us in the past two years, but I hope that with your new Pokémon, things are going to get better for all of us._

_Don't forget to lock the door when you leave the house tomorrow! And have a great time with your Pokémon out there!_

_Love,_

_Mom_

_P. S. The large package contains a surprise._

* * *

Most people in the world know that "surprise" from someone's parents usually meant a euphemism for "something that they would like", so it was no surprise that he immediately opened up the cardboard box.

Inside there was a brand new pair of running shoes. He grinned; he'd been complaining for the past few weeks that his shoes had been a bit uncomfortable for him. His mom must have saved the present for this special occasion. The smaller package contained a map of the Sinnoh region, which, as useful as it was, was not really as good enough as his brand new shoes.

Lucas didn't get to see his mother that often in the past year; she was usually away at some place for work or contest practice during the day, and would only come back after he had fallen asleep. And once again, she was gone from his life in this particular moment.

Lucas sighed and opened the fridge. The smell of cold food instantly greeted him, which thankfully included a batch of homemade tomato sauce, ready to be heated up and served over pasta. _Perfect_, thought Lucas. He may not have been the best cook ever, but he certainly knew how to serve a meal.

* * *

It was getting dark outside. Lucas knew from experience that travelling in the dark was way too risky; while Chris had initially seemed eager to go outside, he was soon discouraged when both of them had yawned within moments of each other.

As he lay down in his bed, with Chris cuddled up beside him for a change (thankfully he was able to "turn off" the flame so he wouldn't burn the house down while sleeping), he thought about what had happened today, during his first battle against Barry.

He had somehow felt… _alive_.

It could have been because it was his first time battling for a while… or, despite what had happened before, maybe he had really liked battling in the first place. Either way, he knew that he had secretly wanted this opportunity inside himself.

He just hoped that he was able to take on the risks involved as he drifted into where his Pokémon had already gone into a few minutes ago.

* * *

Lucas felt it again. That bit of nightmare which he had always struggled to overcome. The ghost was there. His previous opponents were there as well. So far, it was quite predictable. But this time, he had his Pokémon with him, and he was determined not to go down without a fight. This time, he was certain that the ending would be different…

But yet again, he was wrong. One by one, all of his Pokémon fell under the attacks, until there was no one left between him and the dreary projections.

Despite having often faced this kind of nightmare for the last two years, Lucas had never gotten over what was to come next after this.

The shadows now prepared to attack him again. Lucas braced for the impact, as it had often plagued him in times past…

And then, it was all gone.

No ghost. None of the memories. Nothing. He was suddenly left in a void of space, with nothing else inside.

"Hello?"

No answer.

"Anyone here?"

Again, no answer. He was left to his own devices, alone in this quite vacant world.

What had happened? And more importantly, why had it happened?

Then the ground rumbled.

He suddenly lost his footing and found himself rolling towards a cliff which had certainly not been there a couple of moments ago. At this point, he didn't care if it was a dream or a not; he was probably about to die, and he definitely was going to do anything to prevent that from happening. Once again, however, it was no use; he was soon tumbling over the edge of the cliff, while he was trying to get his paws on anything that he could get a hold of…

…wait, paws?

* * *

When he opened his eyes, he found that it was still dark, and he had fallen from his bed. Not a rare occasion; he had found himself waking up in this position after some of the more severe nightmares.

But that dream was unlike anything he had ever dreamt before.

Carefully, Lucas examined his surroundings. There was the bed on his right. There was the lamp beneath the bed. There were the bookshelves, where some paraphernalia were still lying on top, gathering dust. Curiously enough, everything seemed larger than they used to be; not a good sign. A glow emitted behind his back, making things easier to distinguish.

He was sure that he had turned off the lamp before going to bed, and there was only one other light source that he could think of that made the most sense…

Trying not to panic, Lucas slowly started to examine himself. In place of hands, he saw the same paws that he had seen in the dream a few moments ago. He noticed that there was now fur covering his entire body. And looking back, he saw the worst of his fears confirmed: a tail with its tip glowing with a single flame.

He had been put into the body of a Chimchar.

"What the hell…" said Lucas, too shocked to say anything else. He had known of the risks of this adventure, but this sure as hell was not what he had signed up for. This was not good at all. He definitely wouldn't be able to go on any kind of journey in this form, and more importantly, how was he supposed to turn back?

At this point, Lucas saw himself wake up from his bed, screaming. He looked as whoever was occupying his body take deep breaths to recover from what seemed to be a nightmare. The entity then seemed to realize that his body wasn't what it was originally supposed to be.

Lucas then found that seeing himself freak out was one of the weirdest things ever.

"AAAAHHH!" The screams went on for quite a long time before he noticed Lucas in the Chimchar's body. And then went on for some more until he fell off the bed, with all the blankets being kicked away thanks to his freak out.

They both kept staring at each other on the floor, still in disbelief at what had just happened.

"Chris?" said Lucas, after what was quite a long pause. "Is that you?"

"Yes, it is, um… L-Lucas?" he replied.

"Well, at least you're remembering my name," Lucas suddenly realized something. "How is it that you're able to understand what I'm saying right now? Because I don't think I'm speaking English anymore."

"I don't know," said Chris. "I g-guess it comes from originally being a Pokémon?"

"…it makes sense."

* * *

"Well, w-what are we supposed to do now?" said Chris. "I've never wanted to be in this kind of situation, I just thought all I had to do was… uh, all I had to do was- Lucas, is something burning- whoa, watch the tail!"

Lucas turned around. He had almost set fire on one of the furniture pieces while not paying attention; thankfully all that was left on it were merely some smolders.

"Thanks for that warning, I guess," said Lucas. "Just remember: you're not the only one who's complaining here. I didn't want to spend this one opportunity to go on a Pokémon journey only to end up transformed into a Chimchar and-"

"Wait, so you were supposed to go on this journey thing?" said Chris. "Because someone… er… said that I had to be with someone on an adventure, and help them find what they need."

"What I need is my body back, monkey-brain," retorted Lucas. "And… wait, adventure, huh? This isn't going to end well."

"But… why is it not going to e-end well?" said Chris.

"Because right now, you going on my adventure for me seems to be the only journey that I can think of-"

"What?! But-"

"I don't like this either, Chris, but I don't think we have a choice," said Lucas. "You're going to have to be the trainer at least until we can get turned back, because for all intents and purposes, we're not going to be able to play our original roles."

"Okay, but… I don't know how to act like a normal person…" cried Chris.

"Well… that's why I need to help you," said Lucas. "And since you're my only hope at getting my body back, I'm going to have to help you in any way possible, including battling other Pokémon myself… and hope that neither of us dies a painful death."

"Okay… thanks, I suppose…"

"And you're going to have to give me points about… how to take other Pokémon down… yeah."

"I-I'll try my best, Lucas," said Chris. "Shouldn't we tell anyone about this, though?"

"Your host body isn't exactly known for being mentally sane, Chris, and if you tell anyone, we might end up being locked in the house for eternity," said Lucas. "Besides, why would people expect it to happen?"

"Well, maybe we could just tell a few people..."

"…Maybe. But not right now, Chris. We don't want to complicate things any further."

Chris yawned. "Can we go back to sleep right now? It's still dark outside."

"It is," said Lucas, also yawning. "Besides, maybe this could be just some dream sequence and we'll go back to normal if we wake up."

"...What?"

"Never mind, let's just go to sleep, Chris."


	3. Chapter 2: Tutorial

Lucas woke up to the sound of birds chirping outside in the morning sun. It had been a deep and dreamless sleep for him, a definite relief after what had happened last night. His still drowsy sub-consciousness then tried to get up from the bed and check the time…

…which resulted in yet another crash onto the floor.

Lucas took this moment to examine himself yet again. Yes, everything was the same as when he suddenly woke up last night, for he was still in a Chimchar's body, and the Chimchar in his.

"So much for the dream sequence theory," he muttered.

Lucas casually rubbed his eyes and started going over the stuff he needed to saddle Chris for this "adventure". He first set his eyes on the bag containing things he had gotten from the Professor yesterday. He laid down the items on the floor: the Pokedex, the brand-new TM player, and a few healing items… but no Poke Balls.

Chris was starting to stir in bed, so Lucas took the opportunity to wake him up.

"Wake up, sleepyhead. It's time to get going."

Chris woke up with a start. "Whoa! I guess what happened last night was r-real…"

"Apparently so," said Lucas. "Anyway, we need to pack up our stuff and quick; you have someone to meet today at Sandgem Town."

"Who is it, Lucas?"

"Remember the girl next to Professor Rowan at the laboratory?" said Lucas. "Her name's Dawn, and we have to be there by eleven o'clock."

"Wait, Lucas, c-can't we slow down for a bit?"

"I don't know how much this is all going to take, Chris! We have to make do with the time we have! Now help me get the clothes packed up first-" Lucas stopped. "Wait, Chris, you don't know how to dress up, right?"

"No, n-not really."

"…Arceus, help me."

The next half hour was entirely devoted to Chris trying to get his clothes on, and Lucas attempting to help him dress up. For the first few minutes, Lucas was afraid that Chris would accidentally ruin all of his clothing in one go, but thankfully he seemed to have gotten the knack of how the clothes seemed to work after a while, although with great difficulty.

"No, not that way! That's better… no, you're doing it wrong again, let me fix it… almost there… come on… aaand… done! Finally!" yelled Lucas. Chris obviously hadn't done the best job in dressing up, but his appearance seemed tolerable enough. "You really need to get used to doing this more quickly, though."

"Okay…" Chris said. "At least I kinda have it figured out now."

"And hopefully, you'll get used to it," said Lucas. "Now let's start packing up again, we don't have much time."

After they had finished packing all the clothes, Lucas decided that they should move on to the bookshelves to find some supplies. After picking up a couple of books he felt Chris might need, his eyes soon found something that they needed a whole lot right now.

"Chris, could you get me those Poke Balls on the top shelf?" said Lucas.

"You mean those red-and-white ones?"

"They're the ones. You're supposed to use those to catch other Pokemon."

Chris took a moment to examine the three orbs covered in dust. "T-They look really old! Can't I buy some of these somewhere else?"

"There's no Poke Marts here in Twinleaf Town."

"What about in the town after that?"

"I don't think we can go to Sandgem without running into a single wild Pokemon, so I think they're all we have," replied Lucas. "I have to follow the rules, you know."

"…Rules?"

"…I really should have explained it to you in advance," said Lucas. "Technically, I'm not allowed to catch anything other than the first thing I see from each route or area, and I can't catch any Pokemon I already have. Apparently wild Pokemon numbers have been going down a lot for the past year, so I think someone made a rule about it."

"Do you know why this is happening right now?" said Chris.

"Nope," said Lucas. "And I don't think anyone really does."

"It sounds really tough, though."

"It is, but people live with it, so I guess it's not that big of a deal."

"So does this mean that I have to catch the first wild Pokemon on the way to Sandgem Town?" said Chris.

"Yeah, that's why you need those Poke Balls."

"…I'm still not sure if I c-can do this perfectly, Lucas."

"I'm still not sure if I can even battle properly," said Lucas. "But I'm sure that if we can learn from what we each have, it's going to be a lot easier than we think it's going to be. We need to do this, Chris, and I hope we can."

"Thanks, Lucas. I-I'll try my best."

* * *

By the time they had reached Route 201 with all the necessary supplies for the journey in a single backpack, it was already late morning.

"Could you give me the situation again, Lucas?" said Chris, between deep breaths.

"You're supposed to meet up with Dawn on Sandgem Town at eleven… and it's already ten o'clock," said Lucas, looking at the wristwatch Chris had. "It takes about an hour's journey from here to Sandgem, give or take, so we have to hurry."

However, they soon reached an obstacle which both of them probably should have seen coming.

"Wait, do we really have to g-go through the tall grass?"

"It's either that, or climbing up the ledges, and you know that we can't do that," said Lucas. "If we run as fast as we can to avoid the wild Pokemon, we might make it unharmed."

"Okay…"

"Three, two, one, go!"

Luckily, running through the first patch of grass did not seem to disturb any of the Pokemon living there. However, on the next patch of grass…

"Augh!"

"Chris, are you okay?" said Lucas. He was not; he had apparently tripped over something while he was running.

"WILD STARLY APPEARED," said a mechanical voice.

"Chris, I need you to get the Pokedex from the backpack!" said Lucas.

Chris held up the beeping gadget from the bag. "Y-You mean this thing?"

"Yeah, that's it! Now you have to see what moves I'm supposed to have right now!"

"Didn't you see what moves there were when you battled B-Barry yesterday?"

"I forgot, okay?" said Lucas. "All you have to do is press the Battle application and it'll pop up right away- whoa!" The Starly had wasted no time in trying to attack.

"Battle… I t-think it showed up!" said Chris. "You have… uh, Scratch and Leer."

"Thanks, that's exactly what I needed to know!" said a relieved Lucas. "I think I'm going to try and use a Scratch attack against it!"

"G-Go for it, Lucas! Swing as hard as you can!"

Lucas then ran up to the Starly and launched a somewhat clumsy attack that nonetheless got the job done, as the Starly now looked a bit worse for the wear. He had little time to celebrate on this success, however, as the Starly quickly launched a counterattack against him.

"Lucas, are you okay?"

"I'm doing fine! I think I need to attack him just one more time to weaken it!"

"Don't take your eyes off the Starly, Lucas!"

Lucas now looked slightly more confident as he launched another attack with his claws, this one maybe doing more damage than the previous one, although it could have been just his imagination. The Starly now barely could muster any strength for its next attack, but still managed to hit Lucas again, who was now feeling a bit battered.

"Chris! I think it's weakened enough! Throw one of those Poke Balls!"

"O-Okay…"

Unfortunately for Lucas, however, Chris did not yet have great aim.

"Not at me, monkey-brain!" yelled Lucas, after getting hit by the ball and yet another Tackle. "I'm kinda getting hurt here right now, so I'd really like it if you made it quick!"

Chris threw another ball, which seemed to go closer to the target, except it still missed. Lucas, in the meantime, was busy evading the Starly's attempts to attack him.

"I think you're down to your last ball, Chris, you have to nail this one!" said Lucas, catching his breath.

"I'm r-really sorry, Lucas! I'll t-try again… I hope this works!"

Lucas watched as the Poke Ball that Chris threw hit the Starly, who was then engulfed in a glowing light as it was sucked into the ball. The ball twitched for a while as the Starly struggled to get out, but it was no use for the Starly, as the ball's locking mechanisms clicked into place in no time.

And just like that, they had recruited their first teammate for this journey.

"Oh, my goodness, that was _rough_," sighed Lucas, picking up the Poke Ball. "I think I could get used to this, though."

"Same here," said Chris. "It was a lot easier than I t-thought it would be."

"Told you so, Chris."

"Could I have a look at the Starly, Lucas?"

"Well, it's technically 'your' Pokemon now," said Lucas as he handed the ball over. Through the slightly clear material of the Poke Ball, they could see that the Starly seemed to be hurt, but otherwise seemed to be in stable condition.

Lucas said, "Now let's just get the heck out of here-"

"WILD BIDOOF APPEARED."

"Damn it, _run_!"

Lucas knew that a Chimchar was the fastest starter Pokemon in Sinnoh, and right now he had exactly that to thank for as they were able to quickly flee the scene.

After a few more minutes of running had paid off, Sandgem Town was now just ahead of them.

"We're late…" Chris lamented while looking at the watch; it was already a quarter past eleven.

"Yeah… I hope Dawn isn't too angry about this," said Lucas.

* * *

Chris now stood alone in front of the healing counter of the Pokemon Center, as Lucas had been withdrawn into his Poke Ball for this particular moment. Lucas had told Chris beforehand that Dawn would be waiting at the Pokemon Center, but she was apparently nowhere to be found within. Without anything else better to do, Lucas had suggested Chris to "actually use the Pokemon Center for once, for starters."

"Good morning, welcome to the Pokemon Center," said the attendant nurse. "Before we heal your Pokemon, may I please check your trainers' license?"

"Trainers' license? Let me see…" Chris shuffled through his pockets to find the license. "Here it is."

"Thank you, sir," said the nurse as she scanned the license. "And here you go! May I have your Pokemon now, please?"

Chris handed over the Poke Balls containing Lucas and the Starly. "How long will it t-take for you to heal the Pokemon?"

"It'll be over in a few minutes," said the nurse. "You can sit over there and wait until I call you."

"Okay, t-thank you." With that, he turned around to wait in one of the chairs nearby...

…then collided with someone right behind him.

"Oh my goodness, I'm so sorry!" said the girl who Chris had crashed into. "Are you all right?"

"Yeah, I a-am…" stammered Chris as he got himself up and got a clear look at her face. For a moment, he was a bit confused when she seemed to recognize him and say,

"Wait, you're Lucas, right? I'm really sorry to be late for today…"

"I-"

Chris stopped mid-speech. That was a close one; he had momentarily forgotten that he was occupying Lucas's body and not his own. For a slight moment, he wondered in his head on exactly who this person could be.

Then it hit him.

Dawn.

At least she wasn't going to be angry at _him_ for being late.


End file.
